Japan's daily COVID-19 cases set a record high of 15,753 for the fourth straight day Saturday, while the number of people hospitalized in Tokyo broke the previous record set in January, as the pandemic appears to show no signs of abating amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Tokyo, hosting the Olympics while under a state of emergency, also confirmed 4,566 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, topping 4,000 for the fourth day in a row.
Underscoring the strains on hospitals, the number of people hospitalized in the capital reached 3,485, surpassing the previous record of 3,427 in early January.
The latest figures come a day after Japan's cumulative total of confirmed coronavirus cases topped 1 million.
Concerns are growing over a potential collapse of the medical system and the further spread of the Delta variant during the Bon holiday period, a major vacation season in Japan, when people usually return to their hometowns or travel elsewhere.
The Olympics, which end on Sunday, are being held while Tokyo is under a state of emergency, which lasts until the end of the month. The Olympics were mostly held without spectators amid concern over the resurgence of the virus.
The emergency will still be in place when the Paralympics are scheduled to begin on Aug. 24.
The government has recently expanded the state of emergency and also decided to put more prefectures under its quasi-state of emergency.
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